The present invention is directed to a method of engineering chewing gum compositions to predictably release flavorants in the oral cavity. In particular, the present invention is directed to chewing gum bases which optimize the organoleptic characteristics of the chewing gum compositions during chewing.
In the art of gum making, it is well known that chewing gum compositions contain two primary components: water-soluble materials, principally the flavor and sweetener ingredients, and water-insoluble gum base materials made up of elastomers, resins, elastomer solvents, plasticizers and the like. The water-soluble materials are released to a certain extent during chewing to provide the organoleptic sensations of flavor and/or sweetness in the oral cavity, while the water-insoluble component remains in the oral cavity during chewing as a cud.
A commonly noted deficiency in all chewing gums has been the relatively rapid exhaustion of the flavor and/or sweetness during chewing. Over the years, there has been considerable investigation and experimentation directed to prolonging flavor/sweetness sensations during the chewing of the gum product. The perceived flavor characteristics of a chewing gum composition are not necessarily proportional to the amount of flavoring materials included in the gum composition since a significant portion of the gum flavorants become bound up and enmeshed within the chewing gum cud.
Many schemes have been attempted to overcome the peculiar characteristic of rapid flavor exhaustion known in the gum art. For example, a myriad of flavor and/or sweetener delivery systems has been proposed to prolong organoleptic sensations. Increasing and/or decreasing the amount of one or more of the ingredients as well as encapsulating flavorants in various substances have all been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,847 discloses encapsulating flavor oils in polyvinyl acetates. Once encapsulated, the flavor oils are incorporated into a chewing gum base and finally, the gum product. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,920,849 discloses extending flavor release by encapsulating a portion of the flavorants prior to addition to the gum base.
In spite of the contributions discussed above, a need still exists in the art of gum making for extending the flavor release of gum compositions.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide chewing gum compositions having extended flavor release characteristics.
It is a further object of the present invention to enable the chewing gum artisan to more accurately engineer and predict the flavor and/or sweetness patterns of gum compositions.
Other and further objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.